Apparatus for making screen cloth



2 Sheets-Sheet 1- /NVENTOE RI HARD D. HELLER,

BY ATTX R. D. HELLER APPARATUS FOR MAKING SCREEN CLOTH Original Filed July.l9, 1940 May 19, 1942. R. D. HELLER 2,283,881

' APPARATUS FOR MAKING SCREEN CLOTH Original Filed July 19, @940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /NVE/VTO/.' RICHARD D. HELLER,

ATT Y Patented May 19, 1942 P ARA US OR M KING S REEN C TH! Richard D. Heller, Columbus, Ohio Original app ication July 19, 1940, Serial No. 346,342, Divided and this application April 25, 1941, Serial No. 390,386

10Claims.

This invention relates to a new and improved apparatus for making screen cloth, particularly of the type comprising a plurality of parallel strands of wire as distinguished from woven type screen cloth.

An object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a new and improved method of making screen cloth with greater efiiciency and reduced cost.

A further object of the invention is to provide new and improved apparatus in the form of an elongated table for making screen cloth.

Another object of the invention is the provision of improved and eflicient tensioning apparatus adapted to be applied to a wire screen panel preparatory to securing to such panel connecting bars interme a e t e ends o the panel.

A further object of the invention is the provision of improved and eff cient lifting and adiustine mechanism fo soldering ppara u pplied to connecting bars ortransverse strips to re the m o the parall l wire of a s een cloth panel while such wires are held taut by means of tensioning mechanism.

Other j c s of the nve on will app ar hereinafter, the novel features andcombinations being set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is an enlar e iew of the stre ch table of Fig. 3 with the length broken away to accommodate it to a sheet of drawing in which there is also disclosed a pair of jacks which may be employed in carrying out the method of my v nti n a d wh h are shown pe o in tw different operations which are'part of the meths Fig. 2 is an end view taken on the line2 -2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the stretching mechanism; 7

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of one of the jacks of Fig. 1;

Fig, 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing the apparatus and method of attaching intermediate bars and strips to the screen cloth; and

panying drawings has been designed to further treat such panel by securing thereto connecting strips 19 in parallel relation to the end bars 52 and 56 so that the completed screen cloth may be efficiently used in vibrating apparatus with the end bars 52 and 56 and the connecting strips 79 extending longitudinally of the direction of the vibrations, The said apparatus is also adapted to subject the panel 5! to further treatment to make a plurality of sections of screen cloth each having end bars such as 52, 14 and 56, 13 and each having one or more intermediate connecting strips 19. These operations which can be performed on the panel 51 will now be described,

Attention is now directed particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings which illustrate the aptparatus and some of the steps involved in the treating of the panel 51 which has been removed from the winding reel or drum. Mechanism fer treating said panel of screen cloth 5! is in the form of a table 58 comprising a main frame 59 which I have found can be conveniently made by merely taking a desired length of very heavy I-beam, to one end of which is attached a bracket 60 having at its top a holding bracket 5! for removably receiving'one of the, end bars such as the end bar 52, which bracket 6! may take the form of the bracket associated with the deck of the screen which attaches the screen cloth thereto as disclosed and claimed in my co-pending application, Serial No. 234,014, filed October 8, 1933, for improvemfint in screens.

To provide for supporting and stretching the panel of screen cloth 511 have provided means for attaching the other end bar 56, which is shown particularly in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings and which comprises an adjustable bracket 62 which is slidable along the top flanges of the main frame 59 so as to be positioned at the proper distance from the bracket 69 to receive the length of panel of screen cloth 51, it being of course understood that the length of these panels will vary from time to time.

The bracket 62 comprises a box-like construction 63 which may be formed by welding together a pair of angular members from which extends downwardly a pair of spaced arms 64, 54 which extend below the top flanges of main frame 59. Extending inwardly from each of the arms 64, 64 is a locking block 65. Extending upwardly from the box-like construction 63 is an arm 66 which, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, has an appreciable width and is provided with spaced reinforcing plates 61. Extending across the face of e ar 66 is a shelf 68 upon wh h is s ideb y mounted a plate 69 to which is attached a plurality of bolts which extend through the arm 66 and are provided with nuts 1|. The plate 69 also carries an attaching bracket 12 similar to the attaching bracket 6| for removable attachment to the end bar 56 of the panel of screen cloth 51,

To adjust the bracket 62 to the desired position to receive the end bar 56, it is moved to the dotted line position illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings where one side of the box 93 has a large bearing area of contact with the top flanges of main frame 59 under which conditions the locking blocks 65 are spaced from the lower surfaces of the top flanges of main frame 59 whereupon the bracket 62 may slide freely along said main frame 59. When said bracket 62 has reached the position desired, it is rotated clockwise from the dotted line position illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings to the full line position in which position there is a relatively sharp edge of the boxlike construction 63 in contact with the top of the main frame 59, and the two locking blocks 65 are in contact with the lower surfaces of said flanges in a position to the left of that position where said edge of box 63 contacts the top surface of main frame 59. Under these conditions it is of course evident that any force which tends to rotate the bracket 62 in a clockwise direction shall effect a clamping action between said sharp edge of box 63 and the top surface of main frame 59 and between the clamping blocks 65 and the bottom of said flanges, thus securely clamping the bracket 62 inplace. Such action is of course afforded by the tensioning of the panel of screen cloth 51 which is effected by virtue of the connection of the end bar 56 to the attaching brackets 12, the ultimate tension being applied by adjusting the nuts 1|, the end bar 55 being attached to bracket 12, of course with these nuts released sufficiently to permit this operation to be performed. Nuts 1| are adjusted to tension the panel of screen cloth 51 evenly over the entire area.

With the panel of screen cloth 51 thus tensioned on the table 58, the next operations are those of attaching the desired number of end bars and intermediate strips. In the illustration given the panel 51 was to be made into two sections of screen cloth, and consequently it is necessary to attach two additional end bars. Such end bars are illustrated at 13 and 14 in Fig. 1 of the drawings, and their manner of attachment will now be described.

I provide one or more parallel motion jacks 15 each of which has a bottom plate 16 and a top plate 11. Eachtop plate 11 can be adjusted in height with respect to the bottom plate 16 by screw operated parallel link mechanism 18 while maintaining the top plate 11 parallel to the bottom plate 19 at all times. The bottom plates 16 of the jacks 15 merely-rest on the top surface of main frame 59 so that either jack 15 may be placed in any position. A plurality of such jacks are preferably employed so that a pluralty of operators may perform the advance functions which are to be performed on the panel of screencloth 51 simultaneously. (Figs. 1 and 4.)

To attach the end bars 13 and 14 and cross strip 19 as shown in Fig. 1, generally similar operations are performed. The operation of attaching the cross strip 19 (Fig. 6) will now briefly be described.

The jack 15 is placed at the desired position below that where the cross strip 19 is to be attached, and said jack is adjusted So that the plate 11 is at approximately the proper height. The plate 11 is provided with transverse webs 89 (Figs. 1, 4 and 5) upon which is supported a channel member I and associated structure. After the channel I45 and the associated parts are in their proper places, the jack 15 is adjusted to force an intimate contact between the guide strips I41 and the wire 3| whereupon set screws I are adjusted to force the heater element |5| upwardly against the metal tray I53 and the asbestos I53 therein against the bar 8| which is not an end bar in this instance but which is substituted for an end bar and is provided with a center groove 82 (Fig. 5) in which are placed a plurality of strands of wire 83 (see Fig. 6) which may be of the same constituency as wire 3 I. The groove 92 is treated to preclude solder adhering thereto.

With the parts adjusted as illustrated in Fig. 5 and as above described, the wires 83 will be forced into intimate contact with the wires 3| and the strip of solder which is laid on top of the wires 3| above the wires 83, is melted after a reasonable heating period by the heat from heater element |5|. While the solder is in the molten condition a strip 84 of tin plate (sheet iron coated with tin) is laid on top of the wires 3| whereupon the current to heater I5| is cut off and the solder allowed to solidify with the tin plate strip 84 soldered to one side of the wires 3| and the transverse wires 83 soldered to the other side of the'wires 3|, thereby producing the cross strip connection 19 as illustrated in Fig. 6 of the drawings.

The illustration in Fig. 6 is of course reversed from that in Fig. 5 because Fig. 6 shows the operating position of the screen cloth with the wires 83 on top thereof while Fig. 5 shows the position thereof while the screen cloth is being manufactured. Where special conditions of use of the screen cloth require the cross strips 19 to be the reverse of that illustrated in Fig. 5, it is only necessary to turn the panel of screen cloth 51 over and provide a reverse type of brackets BI and 12 which may be provided and substituted for those illustrated in Fig. l of the drawings. When the brackets 6| and 12 are used upside down from their positions shown in Fig. 1, the supports and 69 may be modified accordingly.

A screen cloth comprising the combination with a plurality of parallel strands of wire with end bars attached thereto and a cross strip formed of a plurality of strands of wire adhesively attached to the parallel strands intermediate the end bars, is described and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 394,846, filed May 23, 1941, for an improvement in Screen cloth and method of making same.

To attach an end bar such as an end bar 13 or an end bar 14, the operation is exactly the same as that required to attach a cross strip 19 except for the fact of course that instead of the bar 8| I provide the end bar to be attached.

After the desired number of cross strips 19 and end bars, such as end bars 13 and 14, are attached, the panel of screen cloth 51 has its tension slackened by retracting the nuts 1| whereupon said panel 51 is cut between each pair of end bars which, in the illustration given, will be between the end bars 13 and 14. Thereafter, if the extended lengths of wire beyond the end bars are excessive, they will be clipped 01f, bent over said end bars and covered by strips of tin plate which extend beyond each edge of the associated end bar 13 or 14 and also bent over as shown in my Patent No. 2,220,106 granted November 5, 1940, for an improvement in Screen cloth and method of making same. In other words, the bent over ends of the wires may have soldered thereto strips of tin plate likewise bent over to cover the end portions of the wires 3| including the bent over ends.

As previously indicated, it is possible to make more than two sections or panels of screen cloth on the table 58, and the number of such sections or panels can be readily determined in advance by the available length of the table and the length of each section or panel desired. The number of persons that can operate on the panel of screen cloth 5! will vary with many conditions, but it is evident that more than one person may be operating on it at the same time in attaching end bars or cross strips.

It should be noted that the number of tables 58 may be increased or decreased in accordance with the rate of supply of the panels 51. Under some conditions one table may be found to be ample but if the panels 51 tend to pile up, a suilicient number of tables 58 may be provided, each provided with the equipment shown in Fig. l, to enable operations to be carried out on the panels 51 as fast as produced. This increases the flexibility of operation and makes possible the maximum utilization of the equipment at all times, which would not be possible if all the work of division into a plurality of panels and the addition of intermediate connecting strips, were to be performed on the apparatus by means of which the panel 57 is produced.

This application is a division of my co-pending application S. N. 346,342, filed July 19, 1940, for an improvement in Method of making screen cloth.

Obviously those skilled in the art may make various changes in the details and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims hereto appended, and I therefore wish not to be restricted to the precise construction herein disclosed.

Having thus described and shown an embodiment of my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

l. Mechanism for attaching an intermediate connecting strip to a screen cloth, comprising the combination with supporting mechanism for the end bars of the screen cloth, of a support for the intermediate strip, means for placing the wires of the screen cloth under tension, and means acting on said support to press the intermediate strip against said wires preparatory to securing said strip to said wires.

2. Screen cloth panel tensioning apparatus comprising the combination with an anchorage for one end of the screen cloth panel, of a bracket, a support for said bracket, said bracket being movable along said support to quickly adjust the spacing between said bracket and said anchorage, means on said anchorage and on said bracket for receiving the ends of said screen cloth panel, mechanism for clamping said movable bracket to said support, and means on the movable bracket for tensioning said screen cloth panel.

3. Screen cloth panel tensioning apparatus comprising an anchorage for one end of the screen cloth panel, of an attaching bracket for the other end of the screen cloth panel, an

said bracket enabling it to slide freely along the upper flanges of the I-beam in a direction away from said anchorage and automatically clamping itself to said flanges when tilted toward said anchorage, and means on said bracket for effecting tensioning of said screen cloth panel and at thesame time increasing the clamping action aforesaid.

4. In mechanism for securing a connecting strip to a wire screen intermediate the ends of the latter, the combination with an I-beam support, of an anchorage on said I-beam for one end of the wire screen, tensioning mechanism mounted on said I-beam and adapted to be connected to the other end of the screen, and parallel motion supporting mechanism mounted on said I-beam for moving the connecting strip upwardly against the underside of the wire screen preparatory to securing such connecting strip to the wires of said screen intermediate the ends .of the latter.

5. Mechanism for attaching a pair of adjacent connecting bars to a screen cloth, comprising the combination with supporting mechanism for the end bars of the screen cloth, of supporting means for the connecting bars, mechanism for placing the wires of the screen cloth under tension, and mechanism acting on said supporting means to hold said connecting bars one after the other in contact with the wires of the screen cloth preparatory to securing the same to such wires.

6. In apparatus for attaching connecting bars or strips to the wires of a screen cloth intermediate the ends of the latter, the combination with a support having upper laterally extending flanges, of a bracket resting on said support to slide along the same, clamping members carried by said bracket in position to extend under said flanges, an anchorage for one end of the screen cloth, tensioning mechanism mounted on said bracket and adapted to be connected to the other end of said screen cloth, said bracket being freely slidablealong said support away from said anchorage and said clamping members acting automatically to anchor said bracket to said flanges upon operation of said tensioning mechanism, and means for supporting a connecting bar in contact with the wires of said screen cloth preparatory to securing said connecting bar to such wires.

7. Screen cloth panel tensioning apparatus comprising the combination with an anchorage for one end of a screen cloth panel, of a bracket, a support for said bracket, said bracket being tiltable in one direction for free movement along 'said support to quickly adjust the spacing between said bracket and said anchorage, means on said anchorage and on said bracket for receiving the ends of said screen cloth panel, mechanism for clamping said bracket to said support when the bracket is tilted in the opposite direc- 7 tion from that aforesaid, and means for tenbeing tilted in one direction to quickly adjust the spacing between said brackets, means on said brackets for receiving the ends of the screen cloth panel, mechanism for clamping the movable bracket to said main frame when tilted in a direction opposite to that aforesaid, and means I-beam support for said bracket, mechanism on .73. for tensioning said screen cloth panel while acting on said movable bracket to hold the same in its last-named tilted position firmly secured to said frame by said clamping mechanism.

9. Screen cloth panel tensioning apparatus comprising a main frame, of an anchorage for one end of a screen cloth panel, a bracket movable along said frame, means for connecting the other end of said screen cloth panel to said bracket, mechanism between said bracket and said frame to automatically clamp said bracket to said frame when the screen cloth panel is put under tension, said bracket being freely movable along said frame in the opposite direction when disconnected from said screen cloth panel, and means operable when said screen cloth panel is connected to said anchorage and to said bracket for effecting tensioning of the screen cloth panel and at the same time increasing the clamping action aforesaid.

10. Screen cloth panel tensioning apparatus comprising the combination with an I-beam, of an anchorage for one end of a screen cloth panel, a bracket for connection to the other end of said panel and mounted on top of the I-beam for free movement along the same when tilted away from said anchorage, mechanism extending from said bracket to positions under the upper flanges of the I-beam to clamp the bracket to the I-beam, when the bracket is tilted toward said anchorage. and means for placing the screen panel under tension while increasing such clamping action to hold the bracket secured to said I-beam in adjusted position.

RICHARD D. HELLER. 

